ADA Gets a Makeover

Tuesday, June 17, 2008, the proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register. The proposed regulations consist of a notice of proposed rule making to amend the ADA regulations for State and local governments, a notice of proposed rule making to amend the ADA regulations for public accommodations and commercial facilities, a Regulatory Impact Analysis, and two supporting appendices.

(The synopsis below, written by Robert Pear of the New York Times on June 16, is a portion of his article providing an overview and summary of the proposed changes.)

Sweeping ADA Update Would Affect Millions
The new rules would set more stringent requirements in many areas and address some issues for the first time, in an effort to meet the needs of an aging population and growing numbers of disabled war veterans.

The proposed rules, under development for more than four years, flesh out the meaning of the 1990 law, which set forth broad objectives. The 215,000-word proposal includes these new requirements:

¶Courts would have to provide a lift or a ramp to ensure that people in wheelchairs could get into the witness stand, which is usually elevated from floor level.

¶Auditoriums would have to provide a lift or a ramp so wheelchair users could "participate fully and equally in graduation exercises and other events" at which members of the audience have direct access to the stage.

¶Any sports stadium with a seating capacity of 25,000 or more would have to provide safety and emergency information by posting written messages on scoreboards and video monitors. This would alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

¶Theaters must provide specified numbers of seats for wheelchair users (at least five in a 300-seat facility). Viewing angles to the screen or stage must be "equivalent to or better than the average viewing angles provided to all other spectators."

¶Light switches in a hotel room could not be more than 48 inches high. The current maximum is 54 inches.

¶Hotels must allow people with disabilities to reserve accessible guest rooms, and they must honor these reservations to the same degree they guarantee other room reservations.

¶At least 25 percent of the railings at fishing piers would have to be no more than 34 inches high, so that a person in a wheelchair could fish over the railing.

¶At least half of the holes on miniature golf courses must be accessible to people using wheelchairs, and these holes must be connected by a continuous, unobstructed path.

¶A new swimming pool with a perimeter of more than 300 feet would have to provide "at least two accessible means of entry," like a gentle sloping ramp or a chair lift.

¶New playgrounds would have to provide access to slides, swings and other play equipment for children who use wheelchairs.


Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

What to do with those assets???

HUD's FSS Program


"Why work when my asset limit is only $2000?"

SSA does have certain "asset exclusions". One of the most powerful ones I've seen is HUD's FSS program.

I fully intend to do a more in-depth write-up in a future post - but for now I wanted to throw up the link for your reference.

Check out the link above.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

HEART

Yesterday President Bush signed into law H.R. 6081, the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 ("the HEART Act"), making AmeriCorps more accessible to people with disabilities.

The HEART Act contains a provision we have been seeking that excludes AmeriCorps benefits from being counted as income for purposes of eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This extends the long-time AmeriCorps VISTA income disregard for SSI to all AmeriCorps positions. An SSI recipient who enrolls in AmeriCorps will no longer risk the loss of SSI benefits or eligibility as a result of participating in AmeriCorps. While the law does not extend to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), it removes a significant barrier to participation for SSI recipients.


Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

New Ticket To Work Regulations!!!

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is pleased to announce exciting improvements to the Ticket to Work Program. These changes were published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2008 and will go in to effect on July 21, 2008. Check out the new regulations at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-10879.pd

The new Ticket regs should greatly increase the number of EN's over time...and access to EN's for ticket-holders.


Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Parent-to-Child Deeming From Stepparents

SSA is changing the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) parent-to-child deeming rules so that they no longer will consider the income and resources of a stepparent when an eligible child resides in the household with a stepparent, but that child's natural or adoptive parent has permanently left the household. These rules respond to a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, codified in Social Security Acquiescence Ruling (AR) 99-1(2), and establish a uniform national policy. Also, we are making uniform the age at which we consider someone to be a ``child'' in SSI program regulations and are making other minor clarifications to our rules.

This final rule is effective on June 16, 2008.


Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

SSA Holds Second Disability Hearing on Compassionate Allowances

The Social Security Administration held its second public hearing on compassionate allowances - a way to expedite the processing of disability claims for applicants whose medical conditions are so severe that their conditions obviously meet Social Security’s standards.

Read more at: http://ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/compassionate-allowances-0408-pr.htm


Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

OVERPAYMENTS!!!!! But who is liable?

OVERPAYMENT is a dirty dirty word in my profession. Much of my time is dealt with dealing with and attempting to quell the collection of overpaid SSDI funds.

In cases involving a representative payee...the matter of "who" should the overpayment be collected from becomes a bit grey.

The following is a quick write-up about joint/several liability as is pertains to SSDI overpayments -- and as you will read...it's not always the beneficiary who can be caught holding the stick.

This should become a point of interest for anyone who utilizes a rep. payee and has an overpayment - and also to those rep. payee's who are responsible for someones SSDI monies.



A beneficiary entitled to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and the representative payee receiving the SSDI benefits on his or her behalf may be equally liable for repaying any overpayment of the benefits, as follows:

A. The beneficiary is liable if he or she received the benefit of the monies;
B. The representative payee is personally liable if he or she:
1. Was at fault in creating the overpayment; or
2. Did not apply the monies for the beneficiary's use and benefit.

Note that liability for repaying an overpayment and waiver of recovery of the overpayment are separate matters.

A beneficiary who is liable for repaying the overpayment because he or she had the benefit of the monies may nonetheless have recovery of it waived if the following conditions exist:

A. He or she is without fault in connection with the overpayment; and
B. Recovery or adjustment of the overpayment:
1. Would defeat the purpose of the program involved (i.e. recovery would deprive him or her of income required for ordinary and necessary living expenses); or
2. Would be against equity and good conscience.

A representative payee who is without fault in causing an overpayment of benefits is not liable for repaying it and thus has no reason to request waiver on his or her own behalf. A representative payee who is liable for repaying the overpayment due to being at fault in causing it does not meet the criteria for waiver even if he or she cannot afford to repay.

Source: Social Security Handbook, sections 1906.1 and 1914.2.


Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com